


Bells and Bulbs

by letitout



Category: A Crown of Candy - Fandom, Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, depictions of violence, lapins death, repeatedly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letitout/pseuds/letitout
Summary: Theobald relives the day of Lapin’s death over and over again.
Relationships: Lapin Cadbury/Theobald Gumbar, if you squint
Comments: 19
Kudos: 138





	Bells and Bulbs

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by thewestwinged here on ao3 or aberfaeth on tumblr! thanks for letting me flesh out your Groundhog Day theopin au!

1.

“I misjudged you, chancellor.”

“Oh, shut up.” 

2.

Theobald awakes to the sound of bells. He jolts up, gasping for air. They have to run, they need to keep moving, they need to-

Theobald looks around the room. Panic fills his chest until his lungs are swimming in it and he can’t breathe. He’s in a jail cell. They’ve been caught. Theobald searches around the room- there’s Liam, inside a cell. He needs to get Liam out, he needs to find the king and-

Liam is inside a cell. Theobald is not.

Theobald blinks, taking in his surroundings more slowly. Bells. Liam inside a cell. Theobald rubs at his eyes furiously, as if he rubbed hard enough his vision would adjust and he would not be in a Cerisian jail, but just as before, the scene in front of him stays the same. This cannot be right. Theobald plays the events of the previous day in his mind, trying to piece together a coherent series of events. The trial, the book, the accusations against Amethar. The cathedral. Lapin.

Theobald’s stomach twists as if a dagger has been driven into it. He sees Lapin, on the floor, Preston limp and lifeless at his side. He remembers splatter of chocolate that Theobald had heard once they escaped. Running- and then nothing. Theobald pushes, trying to reach a memory, a scrap, anything, but there is nothing to grab onto. There is a cloud where the rest of the day should be. Perhaps they were ambushed. Perhaps-

There is a clattering of keys and Theobald’s head whips up as the Pontifex enters the room, regal and steely. On instinct Theobald reaches back and grabs his sword. The Pontifex’s face flickers in surprise, and then hardens once more.

“Be careful how you proceed, sir Theobald,” she says in cool, measured tones, “You wouldn’t want anyone thinking you were hostile.”

“What is this?” Theobald demands, “How did we get here?”

The Pontifex’s eyes narrow.

“I am sorry if locking the entrance surprised you,” the Pontifex says, “but please try and see the situation from our point of view. While we trust the citizens of Candia, you must understand why we don’t extend that same faith to the son of Duke Jawbreaker.”

Theobald glances over at Liam, still in the clutches of sleep, curled awkwardly into a ball inside his cell. Preston is nuzzled by his side, which can’t be right. Preston is _dead._

“Unfortunately his trial has been postponed due to the unfortunate passing of the emperor,” The Pontifex continues.

Theobald stills. Something is not right here. He’s heard those words before. The conversation feels all too familiar. Why would she tell him what he already knew?

Theobald takes one last look around the room as Liam is awoken and released. Everything is the same as it had been the day before. Theobald follows lamely as they ascend from the jail, making their way to the cathedral.

It had been a dream. It must have been a dream. But how could it have been so vivid? How could Theobald have predicted the emperors death overnight?

Reeling with contradictory information, Theobald almost crashes into Lapin.

_Lapin_.

Without thinking, Theobald grabs Lapin and draws him in. Lapin is frozen in shock for a moment, and then wriggles against Theobald, pushing him off.

“What on Candia was that for?” Lapin sneers, but Theobald ignores his cutting tone.

“Thank goodness,” Theobald says. He sees the splash of chocolate against the alter in his minds eye, and then immediately dispels it. It was simply a dream. The chancellor is still alive.

“Thank goodness for what?” Lapin asks. His eyes sweep the room, and Theobald sees it- how Lapin’s eyes will rest on someone for just a second, weeding out their thoughts and intentions, and then move on before anyone can notice. Theobald wonders what Lapin has discerned about him this way before. What he would see if he were to pay Theobald the same attention now.

“For... for Liam’s trial being postponed,” Theobald says quietly. His hesitation might have given him away, but Lapin seems preoccupied with other things. Other people.

“Indeed, although I am sure he will be brought to justice,” Lapin says aloud. He finally makes eye contact with Theobald, and then rests a hand on Theobald’s shoulder. 

_I will not let any harm come to him_ ,  Lapin’s voice rings inside his head.

Lapin stepping in front of Liam. The splash of chocolate. Silence.

_I know you won’t_ ,  Theobald replies. Lapin gives him a small, discreet nod and Theobald’s stomach curdles. Theobald will live and die by his duty, but looking at Lapin, perhaps that duty could be stretched to one more person. Whatever the dream was telling him, Theobald swears to not let it play out in reality. He will protect the House of Rocks and the Chancellor. He is capable of doing so.

So when Plumbeline names the emperors successor as Ciabatta, and Theobald’s insides twist with the notion that this is all just  too  familiar for comfort, he springs into action. Theobald rushes to Amethar’s side as Amethar declares that he was named successor.

“My lord,” Theobald hisses underneath his breath, “Don’t swear on the Book of Leaves. It’s a trap.”

Amethar swats him away like he is some small annoyance. Theobald, increasingly frustrated, makes a grab at Amethar’s attention once more.

“My king, I really do have to insist-“

“I’m not much, but I’m a man of my word, Theobald. I don’t have anything to hide,” Amethar says.

“But they’re going to-“

But it’s too late. Amethar is unshakeable in his resolve, stubborn and determined to prove his innocence. Theobald cannot step out of line without getting everyone instantly killed. All he can do is watch in horror as the scene in front of him continues to unravel, just as it had in his dream. Or maybe, Theobald starts to reason, just as it had the day before. Maybe as it will continue to do.

Caught up in his own thoughts, Theobald only breaks free of them once Jet begins to charge at the Pontifex. It all happens so quickly, and Theobald acts on muscle memory before his brain can catch up to him. It goes exactly as it did, as it was written, and Theobald ends up ushering the House of Rocks into the night as Lapin takes his final breath alone, deserted in the cathedral. It can’t happen again.

Theobald takes a gulp of air- and then darkness surrounds him, until he wakes up to the sound of bells. 

3.

It can’t happen again.

Theobald does not know what is happening, but whatever it is (a nightmare, a rerun of fate, some plan from the Bulb, an act of magic or possibly even some new arcane torture), he needs to fix it.

Theobald finds Amethar. Perhaps he can fix this before it has the chance to begin.

“King Amethar,” Theobald says, “We have to leave. Now.”

“What is it?” Amethar says, his face creasing in concern, “are you alright, Theobald?”

“No,” Theobald replies truthfully, “The papers were never signed. There’s no proof that you were named as the successor by Gustavo. Plumbeline is going to claim that Ciabatta was named as the heir.”

Amethar’s shoulders square defensively, “how do you know this?”

“I can’t explain it right now,” Theobald stammers, aware of the ticking clock. They’re on a deadline- someone will come looking for them soon. They need to sneak out as soon as possible. Perhaps having Ciabatta named as the emperor is the best course of action. They can watch the politics unfurl from the sidelines, get stronger, save the Chancellor.  _Lapin_.  Where is he? Theobald’s body is weighted down with desperation. He needs to find Lapin, to-

“That was Gustavo’s dying wish, Theobald,” Amethar says, “I’m gonna make sure it’s followed up on.”

“But you’re not going to get the chance. They’re going to get the Book of Leaves and reveal that-“ Theobald is cut short as Liam, escorted by soldiers, brushes past them. He looks up at Amethar, his eyes wide with fear, and Theobald knows that he’s lost him. There is something about Liam that poses as a weakness for Amethar. The scared, young boy, who thought he would never amount to anything, suddenly pushed into the spotlight against his will? It’s all too easy for Amethar to carve out a soft spot in his heart for Liam. One day, Theobald fears, this may be his downfall. Amethar didn’t learn to easily discard people, the way you do when you’re born into definitive power. Having nothing to cling on to makes for a weak fist. He cares too much, too easily. He’s going to die protecting someone.

Theobald’s mind drifts to Lapin stepping in front of Liam. Perhaps there is a side to Lapin that Theobald dismissed too quickly.

Amethar immediately follows Liam, and Theobald has no choice but to go too. He doesn’t know how to persuade Amethar when they are so close to the enemy- an enemy that Amethar doesn’t even realise that they have yet. Theobald feels suffocated. He knows what’s coming. He needs to stop it. But he can’t. There is no way to talk Amethar down from this.

Plumbeline names Ciabatta successor. Amethar places his hand on the book. Amethar falls from grace. Jet charges. History is doomed to repeat itself, it seems.

This time, however, Theobald has some control. He tells Lapin to  go to the king, protect him.  Lapin obeys, surprisingly. A weight is lifted from Theobald’s chest. He can do this, he can-

Liam, vulnerable, in front of Keradin, let’s out a howl of pain as he is torn into. Before Theobald can react, Amethar darts in front of Liam and takes the empty place that Lapin has occupied twice before. All hell breaks loose as Theobald watches Amethar take the blows. Theobald starts to run, but it’s too late. There are too many people. Amethar’s body drops to the ground. He hears Jet and Ruby’s screams, Liam’s panic. Theobald turns around, searching for Lapin, but he can’t, he can’t, he-

Darkness.

Theobald awakens to the sound of bells.   
  


4.

Theobald goes straight for Keradin. He’ll try and lure him into a duel, distract him, keep him away from Liam or Lapin in the first place. 

From the corner of his eye, Theobald sees Lapin reach out, a spark of magic sweeping over to Amethar, who begins to fly. Amethar grabs his daughters, and they start to head towards the window.  _This is it,_ Theobald thinks,  _we’ll do it this time._

Theobald does as he was born to do. All he has known is this: the adrenaline, the precision, the art of bringing his opponent to his knees. 

Keradin goes down. Theobald roars out in triumph, and looks up at Lapin on the balcony, reaching out a hand towards him. 

“I’ll get you up here!” Lapin shouts, and magic begins swirling at his fingertips. The escape is so close Theobald can taste it. Theobald begins running, and then... nothing. The dart of magic never comes. 

Theobald looks up. The magic has disappeared from Lapin’s fingertips. His eyes are wide, his mouth hanging open. Theobald watches as Lapin’s cape begins to stain a shade of crimson. 

There is silence, and a moment of stillness. And then, slowly and then far too quickly, Lapin’s body tumbles over the balcony. There is an arrow in his back, and Theobald turns his head away before he can see the fall, but he hears it, he feels it. Theobald screams and screams and screams until he can’t tell the difference between his own, hoarse voice and the sound of bells. 

6.

Theobald begins to learn from his mistakes, but not quickly enough. Theobald watches as Jet falls down beside Lapin, her eyes wide, not quite processing the damage of the dagger that has been jammed inside of her chest. 

Theobald can hear his own voice, but it’s hollow and distant, as if someone else is shouting, and he is merely a spectator, watching from outside of his body. Lapin shoots out a blast of magic to heal the wound, and the blood stops running, but it’s not enough, and suddenly Lapin is on the ground too, and Jet’s whimpers and Ruby’s wails sound oddly like bells. 

7.

Liam goes down, an arrow in his back, and Lapin follows shortly after. 

9.

The repetition becomes worse. Theobald thinks something may be glitching, rewinding and replaying too hard, warping the events as an arrow shoots through Ruby’s throat and she collapses from a balcony, tumbling and spinning on her way down, one last time, like a beautiful, horrifying acrobat. 

14.

Theobald kills Plumbeline before she can speak. There’s a sickening silence in the Cathedral. Theobald is tired. He’s so  tired.  He needs this to stop, he needs to never hear those bells again. He is sick of blood and the sound chocolate makes when it splatters. He is sick of having to watch Lapin go down, again and again and again. He catches Lapin’s last words a few times. 

_The Bulb cares for no-one_.

Is this what this is? Some cruel, shift in reality from a higher power who cares for nobody, and so everyone is dispensable? Is there a lesson to this? 

Theobald wonders if there _could_ be a lesson as he watches the life leave a young woman, who’s actions were unclear and motivations even foggier. Does she deserve this? Do anyone of them? Especially Lapin, who seems to be one of the only constants in this sick reel of endless days. Does Lapin deserve to die, over and over again? Nobody deserves that, Theobald decides. He’ll make it right. One of these times, he’ll get it right. 

There is chaos. Theobald feels the arrows, and his hot, sticky blood. He falls to his knees. What a sight it must be- almost as if he were in prayer. 

Theobald looks up. Liam’s throat has been slit on the spot. The girls go down soon after, followed by their father, and finally Lapin. There must be a way to stop this. 

Bells. 

17.

They don’t have much time, but Theobald grabs Lapin before they go to the cathedral. 

“If this was your last day to live, how would you want to spend it?” Theobald asks. It is naive and foolish, but Theobald entertains the idea that they could run away. They could turn their backs on a life of politics and live as outcasts, shameful, but they wouldn’t care, because they would have each other and they would be alive. 

Lapin looks Theobald up and down, his stare cutting. 

“Probably the same as you,” Lapin says, “Doing my duty. Keeping my promises.” 

Lapin makes good of his word. There is a splatter of chocolate, then bells. 

22.

Theobald tears Keradin away from Lapin, grappling him, but he knows he’s too late. Lapin takes a few steps, and then stumbles. There’s something different this time, though. Lapin does not go down quietly. He looks up at the ceiling and he  shrieks.  He curses and he prays to a god that Theobald suspects isn’t the bulb. 

“Please,” Lapin begs, “Save me! I still have to do something for you! There’s still one wish left! I am still in your debt! Just don’t let me die!” 

When he wakes up the next day, the broken cracks in Lapin’s voice haunt his memories. It is worse than the sound of chocolate splattering against the alter, worse than the bells, worse than any scream could be. 

24.

Theobald knows that he is running a fools errand. Lapin dies every time, and the more Theobald tries to change the scenario, the more likely it is that Lapin is not the only one who falls in battle. Lapin does not deserve his own fate, but Theobald cannot subject anyone else to the same fate too. It is not fair. None of this is fair. 

Perhaps it is not fair because it is random. Maybe fair doesn’t exist for anyone. But Theobald must believe that fairness is out there. Theobald must believe that in some universe, in some timeline, the world is kind and just and Lapin is alive and stays that way. The thought is the only thing that keeps him sane. 

31.

Theobald tells Lapin. 

He tells Lapin because there is nothing else he can do. Because he has watched Lapin die over and over and over. He tells Lapin because he has watched every person he has travelled with and swore to protect die. He tells Lapin because there is nothing left to do. He tells Lapin because he is selfish, and slowly going crazy, and he just needs one other person to know. So he lays it out in front of Lapin: _this is what will happen. These are the mistakes that have to be made. You die every time. I am trying to stop it. I am trying so hard._

Lapin waits quietly until Theobald has finished, his face still and unreadable. Theobald tries to imagine anyone else taking this news. He imagines Liam’s face twisting in terror, or Ruby starting to cry- even Amethar, afraid and naive. But this is Lapin, who takes it in stride, who does not waver. He nods and stares at Theobald for a while.

“I’m sorry,” Theobald says. Lapin sighs, his chest rising and falling slowly.

“What happens if you stop trying?” Lapin asks plainly.

“I don’t know,” Theobald replies truthfully.

“Maybe there is something you’re missing,” Lapin says, “Maybe it has nothing to do with me at all.”

Theobald shakes his head. “It has everything to do with you.”

Lapin let’s the words hang in the air, and then slowly extends an arm, and rests his hand on Theobald’s cheek.

“You are a bigger fool than I thought,” Lapin says, but there is no malice there. He does not move his arm even when Theobald reaches up to take his wrist in his hand. They stand there, unspeaking, until they know they have to leave.

Later that day, Lapin steps in front of Liam. Liam sends Preston to Lapin’s side. Amethar and the girls clamber out, shortly followed by Liam. Theobald turns. He waits a beat too long, but Lapin looks up at him.

_Go_ ,  Lapin mouths, before a blade is driven through his chest. Theobald stands still. He watches this time. He waits for the splatter of chocolate, for the life to slowly leave Lapin’s eyes. Theobald looks up at Keradin. It is the last thing he sees before the world turns black, and Theobald awakes to the sound of bells. 

39.

Theobald holds Lapin as he bleeds out. For the time being they are undisturbed. This seems to be a small mercy from the Pontifex as Theobald rocks Lapin back at forth, trying to collect Lapin up in his arms. He feels so small.

“Not again,” Theobald says softly, “I can’t keep doing this, Lapin.”

“Then stop,” Lapin says hazily. Theobald is sure that Lapin isn’t even aware of what he’s saying, that the life is seeping out of him too quickly for the conversation to hold any meaning, but Theobald keeps going.

“But I need you,” Theobald says.

“The Sugar Plum Fairy needed me,” Lapin says, and laughs a dry, bitter laugh, and coughs up a splatter of blood, “and look where that got me.”

Lapin’s eyes, filling up with blood, seem to drift towards Theobald once more.

“We can’t all survive, Theobald,” Lapin says weakly. Theobald can feel Keradin slowly approaching from behind, and he grips Lapin harder.

“But I can try,” Theobald says desperately, “I’ll keep trying.”

“Make sure the family survives,” Lapin says, “They needed me. And now they need you.”

The conversation ends abruptly as a sword is driven into Theobald’s back, and he slumps over Lapin’s body, the two of them entangled as they take their last breaths. 

40.

“Did you make a deal with the Sugarplum Fairy?” Theobald asks Lapin. He has grown tired of skirting around questions, afraid of breaking formalities. He has lived this day enough to know that the lack of pleasantries won’t change the shape of fate.

There is a long pause as Lapin seems to consider these words.

“Yes,” he says carefully, but honestly, “Yes, I did.”

Theobald has never seen Lapin like this. Saying the words out loud seems to relieve him of some tension. His gaze, resting on Theobald, seems clearer. For a moment, Theobald sees those eyes filling up with blood, and then shakes the image from his mind. Not yet. Not now. They still have some time.

“Would you die for her, if she asked it of you?” Theobald asks plainly.

Lapin shrugs.

“I suppose I would have to,” Lapin says, “Desperate people do desperate things.”

“If I were to lay down my life for the king, or his family, would you call that desperate?” Theobald asks.

“No,” Lapin says softly, “I would call that doing your duty.”

Something about Lapin’s resigned tone resonates inside of Theobald’s chest. Theobald had always assumed that willing to risk his life for someone else was simply the way of a soldier. He did not expect it from anyone else, but he thinks back over every time he has seen Lapin die. There was not one time that Lapin died without trying to protect someone. Lapin, selfless to a fault, was a better man than Theobald. Lapin would always die because his motivation would always be protecting others; not because of their title, but because they were people, and because people deserved to live. 

41.

Theobald allows himself on more time. He stays with Lapin, in those last few moments, Preston by his side, curled up and perfectly still. Theobald will protect the family tomorrow. Today he is going to be selfish. 

Theobald pulls Lapin onto his lap. He knows that Keradin is coming. He knows the exact spot on his back that Keradin will drive his blade into. He’s felt it countless times before. Theobald, however, is not scared. For him, there will be a tomorrow. Others are not quite as lucky. 

Theobald reaches down and softly kisses Lapin’s forehead. There’s no blood this time. Tomorrow there will be, but for today, Theobald can make it peaceful. Perhaps this timeline will continue running even when he leaves it, and Lapin will die quietly, in the arms of someone who cares. Theobald closes Lapin’s eyelids. 

Theobald looks up. Keradin is just behind him. Theobald sneers, and gives Keradin a rabid smile. It will always end this way. Theobald has made peace with that. One day, he will claim the life of Keradin. He will come back and he will serve justice that feels so wildly overdue. But tomorrow, he will take the House of Rocks and run. He will stop selfishly trying to save someone who cannot be saved. 

Like Lapin, he will learn to be selfless. 

“The Bulb cares for no-one,” Theobald yells out, and then there is the dagger, darkness, and bells. 

42.

“I misjudged you, chancellor.”

“Oh, shut up.” 


End file.
